"Sweet City Woman" is a 1971 song by

Rich Dodson Rich Dodson (born July 1, 1947) is a Canadian musician and songwriter who is the guitarist, vocalist and a founding member of the rock trio The Stampeders. He is best known for penning the group's biggest hit, " Sweet City Woman", which hit ...

recorded by Canadian rock band

The Stampeders The Stampeders (sometimes shortened to Stampeders) are a Canadian rock trio consisting of lead guitarist and vocalist Rich Dodson, bassist Ronnie King and drummer Kim Berly. History Formed in Calgary, Alberta, in 1964 as the Rebounds, the ...

, appearing on their debut album ''Against the Grain'' (retitled ''Sweet City Woman'' in the US). It features a

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

as a primary instrument, which is also mentioned in the lyrics: "The banjo and me, we got a feel for singing."

Chart performance

The single spent four weeks as a number 1 hit in Canada, and reached number 8 in the US. It also climbed to number 1 on the Canadian

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

and

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

charts. The song was also marketed in Canada by Quality Records with instrumental and French lyric versions.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Awards

The band and song won numerous

Juno Awards The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United S ...

in 1972, including Best Single, Songwriter of the Year (guitarist Rich Dodson), Record Producer of the Year (Mel Shaw), and the band was named Canada's Top Group.

Cover versions

The song has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by many

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

s over the years, most notably: *American country music artist Johnny Carver, in 1977. Carver's version peaked at number 48 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart. *

Tompall & the Glaser Brothers Tompall & the Glaser Brothers were an American country music group composed of three brothers: Chuck (February 27, 1936 – June 10, 2019), Jim (December 16, 1937 – April 6, 2019), and Tompall (September 3, 1933 – August 13, 2013) Glaser. ...

, whose release went to number 34 on the same chart in 1980. Other less known covers include one by Danish singer and actress Daimi Gentle titled "Jeg kommer" (I'm coming), released in 1973.

Use in media

The song can be heard during a flashback scene in the ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American legal crime drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould for AMC. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–201 ...

'' episode "

Inflatable An inflatable is an object that can be inflated with a gas, usually with air, but hydrogen, helium, and nitrogen are also used. One of several advantages of an inflatable is that it can be stored in a small space when not inflated, since inflat ...

," during the ending of the ''

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appear ...

'' episode "Bird Patrol," the Adam Sandler film ''

Little Nicky ''Little Nicky'' is a 2000 American dark fantasy comedy film directed by Steven Brill, written by Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler, and Brill, and starring Sandler in the title role, Patricia Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr., Rhys Ifa ...

,'' the Condor episode “Out of His Exile,” in the Canadian commercial for " Dempster's Bread Farmer" and in an episode of the Canadian comedy series Robson Arms

Personnel

* Produced by Mel Shaw * Engineered by Terry Brown * Recorded at Toronto Sound,

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. * Rich Dodson – vocal, banjo, lead electric guitar * Ronnie King – bass * Kim Berly – drums

References

{{reflist

External links

Origin Stories: Rich Dodson on The Stampeders’ “Sweet City Woman”
fro
JulietteJagger.com
1971 singles 1977 singles 2008 singles Franglais songs Johnny Carver songs The Stampeders songs Tompall & the Glaser Brothers songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles 1971 songs Bell Records singles Philips Records singles Songs about New Orleans